Local Marketing Ideas

The Twilight saga continues! It's true fellow Twihard admirers; the new teaser trailer of the third book, "Eclipse" was released to the public yesterday.  The vampire series continues to captivate and totally annoy the nation. The one-minute-and-thirty-second clip that arrived online dabbles into the not too surprising events about what we'll see in the upcoming movie.

Watch the trailer below and let's break it down, shall we? When the music begins instant goose-bumps occur and Edward’s hypnotizing voice mesmerizes all enthusiasts. We all know that Bella and Edward love each other but for all you Jacob fans we believe that Bella should choose the irresistible Jacob (sorry Team Edward I’m loyal to Team Jacob). “The Vulturi do not give second chances” and Bella has to change from a human to a vampire but Edward is hesitant with the consequences to follow. Jacob will fight for Bella (shirtless) until “her heart stops beating” showing off his hunky, muscular figure. A new Victoria, with her firey red hair, is back to obtain her vengeance.  Rest assured I will be standing in line alongside the die-hard fans to purchase my ticket for the midnight opening showing.

After reading the very popular Stephenie Meyer books, people of all ages (yes not just girl teeny boppers) eagerly search for the new trailer and click on whatever sight pops up first. Local businesses are utilizing the effective and affordable local internet marketing by posting these clips to generate demand to their sites. Local store marketing is taking advantage of the hype utilizing POS materials to drive sales of the last video which will release the 20th, even Volvo saw significant lift in their sales when the movie was released!  By using co-op advertising and local marketing ideas, stores are placing Twilight posters, wall hangers, and selling fan gear to effectively drive brand awareness. This movie has spent significant marketing dollars developing and nurturing their name which has proven successful. Twilight set the opening-day box office record taking in $72.7 million on the first day and grossed $258.8 million! New Moon pulled in $26.3 million just on the midnight showings and broke the record for the most pre-sales for any movie! Let's see what Eclipse has in store for us.


 

I am a self-professed magazine fien. I currently subscribe to (gasp) 11 magazines (Real Simple, Runners World, The Week, Glamour, Shape, US Weekly, Women’s Health, Bon Apetite, Outside, Self, and Cooking Light). I pay between $7.99 and $64.95 for each subscription.

Over the past month, I have been amazed at some of the deals that have arrived in my mailbox. It seems that almost all of my subscription fees have been drastically cut. So a few weeks ago when I saw this AdAge article, it didn't really surprise me. A whopping two-thirds of the 344 magazines analyzed have dropped their per-copy subscription prices. Even more interesting – the price choppers are continuing to lose subscribers.

The less money magazines generate from subscribers, the more publishers depend on advertising dollars. Only, as anyone in the advertising world knows, print advertising dollars aren’t as easy to come by as they once were. In addition, the less a reader has to pay to obtain the magazine, the less they may value the magazine (and thereby the advertising brands that they are exposed to). It isn’t clear though, whether a subscription purchased at a drastically reduced cost provides as valuable of a reader for advertisers as a subscription that is actively sought out.

If single-copy purchasers, subscribers AND advertisers are all less willing to ante up and both single-copy sales and subscriptions are down, what should magazines do?  For many, they are turning more attention to their websites. For example, Runners World, Real Simple and Cooking Light have fantastic websites (I know because I have all three bookmarked). I spend more time online than I do reading, watching television, listening to the radio, etc. If your target demographic includes someone like me, turning to local internet marketing would be a good bet.

While I love my magazines, they more often than not fuel my love of the internet - I often "get my chef on" (as my husband calls it) with a recipe I pull from one of my favorite magazine's websites AFTER perusing my coveted magazine collection. With the economy in its current state, affordable, effective local marketing ideas are a necessity, it comes as no surprise that more and more neighborhood businesses are amping up their local advertising efforts. If you are a local business owner and haven't changed your local advertising strategy in ages, take another look at your online options, you might be surprised at who is online and how affordable it is to get in front of them.

It’s an idiom the advertising industry has tossed around for years: grab the low hanging fruit.  These are the people already looking for a particular product or service, they know what they want, they’re familiar with an established company, and all they need is a little nudge to get them walking in the door to spend money. 

But what about the high hanging fruit?  The people content with the status quo who aren’t looking to try something new or different.  Appealing to this group is particularly challenging for service companies that must rely on their prospective clients to proactively reach out in order to engage with a new company.  

I’m going to throw myself in the category of the high hanging fruit.  I’m quite positive I’ve stuck with the same handful of companies my entire life that are providing crucial services including tax preparation, financial planning, and insurance.  In order to prompt me to try a new company, I would need to be convinced that what I’ve been doing for the last 10 or so years is not the best option, that it would be worth it to schedule an appointment in my already packed schedule, or that I actually need a new service I’m not currently utilizing.

Many of the service companies actively looking for new clients are running national campaigns that have done well to establish their respective brands as household names.  As an average Jane consumer, I enjoy watching the Aflac duck risk his life on a daily basis, I’m charmed by the Geico gecko, and I think the Fidelity green line is ingenious.  These memorable campaigns are great at keeping their brands top of mind and may be enough to attract the low hanging fruit, but I would argue that a more aggressive approach is sometimes needed in order to attract the consumer base a little further out of reach. 

To bridge the gap between advertisements that I, as a consumer, perceive as sheer entertainment and those that will influence my behavior, these companies need to complement their national campaigns with advertising strategies that deliver a more personalized touch.  Their services need to be presented as tangible and easy to obtain, I need to feel like a qualified potential client, and most importantly, I need to be assured that there is a real person behind the catchy message who wants to meet me and is waiting just down the street to be my new agent, advisor, or consultant. 

People in the high hanging fruit category like me don’t want to call 1-800 numbers and talk to someone across the country who doesn’t know us.  We’re perhaps a little too timid to walk into an office without a friendly invitation, and we might not even realize there is a local branch of a well-known company in our area.  Through local marketing efforts, these national companies can give me a map to their office, a picture of a person to meet, and phone number that will be answered by someone in my same county, let alone continent. 

National companies can equip their local affiliates with the tools and resources they need to complete the challenging puzzle of local advertising.  Witty campaigns are a great start, but co-op programs, locally customized advertising material, and a smart media planning strategy are what it takes to fill in the missing pieces.  These local marketing ideas can transform amusing ads into influential ads that will, (to continue with the allegory), give a tree a good shaking to knock the top fruits from their secure holding and bring them falling into the net below.

Like many consumers around the world, I've been watching the Olympics on a daily basis.

My routine for the last week has been to relax in my family room, with my dog at my feet, the fire burning in the background, multi-tasking between my work on a small laptop perched against my knees and maneuvering through a day’s worth of DVR captured Olympic coverage.

Given my full schedule, I've had to be selective in my Olympic viewing. Have I had time to watch cross country skiing? No. Do I pause to catch the latest curling match? No.

And, of course… with four quick clicks of the yellow, "skip ahead" button on my remote,  I bypass the commercials.

That being said, there are two brands that have jumped out at me…. Fischer Skis and Head Skis. I've never  Nordic skied, so I can't comment much on Fischer other than to assume they have a big market share in Nordic skiing, evidenced by the big yellow Fischer Ski logos prominently displayed in every possible slow motion angle on Ski Jumping.

I do know Alpine skiing however. Head Skis has me puzzled. They've received some great coverage in these Olympics. Lindsey Vonn and Bode Miller both ski on Head skis, which is evident to us consumers during slow motion replays, end-of-race interviews, and reporter commentary on ski equipment.

Now, I've been a consumer of ski equipment for a long time (I ski weekly, I used to ski instruct, etc.)… and I'm now a consumer of ski equipment for my two daughters as well (and will be for another ten years)….  If you asked me to name fifteen ski brands, Head would not have made the list.

Why is that? I did a search on Bing (and on Google) for "Head Skis Boise" to see where in Boise one might be able to go check out a pair of Head skis. Based on the lack of search results, it's logical to infer that buying Head skis in Boise is not an option. Upon further laborious research on the Head website,  I finally determine there are two retailers of Head Skis in Boise. One of which is Greenwood's Ski Haus. (I happen to coach soccer for one of the owner's daughters).

So, my questions are:

• How is Head leveraging this week's Olympic coverage?
  
• Why doesn't Head have more consumer share of voice?
• How is Head going to convert consumers like me into revenues and raving fans?

Head is apparently banking on establishing a relationship directly with the consumer, through their website, social media, etc. They seem to lack interest in marketing to individuals on a local basis via their specialty retail channels (they aren't alone).

I'm a fan of direct brand-to-consumer relationships, but I believe there is a massive opportunity for brands like Head to build market share and to more effectively market locally via their specialty retailers. Most brands just struggle with the complexities of making that a reality.

Here is a very basic, simple example of a local marketing idea that could be utilized by a brand like Head.

• Head produces a professional direct mail marketing template that features Head products/brand messaging on 50% of the piece. The other half of the ad can be branded by the local retailer. The message of the piece leverages the recent success of the Olympic athletes.
• The direct mail is mailed to a highly targeted demographic list of local consumers, and has a call to action to drive the consumer into the store.
• Head agrees to pay 75% of the marketing costs of the direct mail, which means the retailer is getting 300% more marketing exposure for their marketing dollar than if they'd tried to market without the help of Head.
• Head sells more skis, Head builds market share, the retailer captures more customers and revenues, the consumer is excited because they have the same brand of skis that the Olympic skiers use.

Based on my experience of talking to many new brands each month about their marketing, brands have many (historically legitimate) reasons why local marketing is a challenge. These reasons happen to be the same with every brand I talk to.

• Local retailers lack marketing expertise and are overwhelmed with the myriad of marketing media available.
• Brands have offered to do this for their retailers in the past, and the retailers only use 40% of the money available to them.
• Administering this "co-operative advertising" process is a real challenge for the brand and a deterrent to the retailer
• The brand's CFO is putting tremendous pressure on the marketing organization to reduce their co-op/mdf marketing spend. Obviously because there is no ability to measure a positive ROI (otherwise, they'd want to invest more, correct?)

Suffice it to say, these reasons are no longer valid (at least, not for Balihoo's clients).

There should be a race by brands to harness the local marketing capabilities of their specialty retail channels to build customer market share on a very intimate/local basis…. Head, K2, Atomic, Rossignol, Salomon, Blizzard, Nordica… the first one to figure this out will have a unique competitive advantage.

Will Head's revenues increase as a result of the success of their Olympic Athletes? Probably…. Will it be exponential and will they become a market share leader for years to come? Potentially, if they crack the code on how to leverage their specialty retail channels to drive local marketing.

Want to learn how?  Check out our Local Marketing whitepaper or our Co-op Marketing whitepaper, they can get you started. 



Kewords:  trade promotion marketing, local advertising, local marketing ideas, local marketing software, co-op marketing software. 

Rise to the challenge. Hit a tough problem first thing in the morning? Good! Constant mental challenges are Miracle-Gro for your mind.

Walk to lunch. Regular, moderate exercise cuts dementia odds in half.

Order up some Mediterranean food. Eating more fish, fruits, veggies, whole grains and legumes than most Americans do (not difficult!) reduces your risk of Alzheimer's by up to 40 percent. (This also means avoiding added sugars, syrups, trans fats, saturated fats and any grain but 100 percent whole grain.)

Spice it up. Indians have 75 percent less brain dysfunction and Alzheimer's at the same age as Westerners. The reason: It's thought to be the curcumin-derivative turmeric found in curry (and inexpensive mustards).

Savor a little chocolate. Chocolate keeps your brain happy, possibly by keeping your arteries young.

Slice it (on the ping-pong table). Playing a sport that requires fast changes in direction improves balance and memory.

Practice. Playing music bolsters language areas of your brain. Bonus: You can be bad at it (keep the day job!) and still benefit.

Pop some DHA and D. DHA is the omega-3 fat that helps keep brain cells young. Get 600 mg a day from fortified foods or DHA supplements. And add 1,000 IU of vitamin D-3 to help keep the arteries going to your brain younger, too.

Here at Balihoo, I get the opportunity to work closely with our media team.  I observe and learn from them while they develop media strategies for our clients on a daily basis.  I’m continually impressed by the time and commitment they put into each advertising media plan they create.  They are extremely committed to researching every media type in local advertising markets in order to reach our clients’ diverse audiences.  The alternative media vehicles they research particularly fascinate me and have caused me to pay closer attention to the creative ways brands promote their products or services in my life.  I can always appreciate an ad that catches my attention due to its particular location, delivery or behavior.

A prime example of one of these innovative media vehicles happens to be just that, a vehicle.  Well, kind of – it’s a vehicle for horses, anyway, and happens to be owned by a good friend of mine.  This friend competes professionally in the Pro Rodeo Cowboy Association and travels the country year-round to compete in the biggest rodeos in the world.  He and his horses have traveled on nearly every main roadway through every state in the western three quarters of the continental United States.  He also happens to be part of a unique but growing group of cowboys who are sponsored by inspired companies looking to support one of our country’s most cherished western traditions. 

These partnerships are very beneficial to both parties.  The cowboys typically wear the brands’ logos on their competition attire while their trucks or horse trailers display brand decals.  This sort of advertising delivers invaluable brand exposure from the big screens of our country’s largest sporting event venues to its vast network of interstate highways.  The cowboys, in turn, are supported in their never-ending quest to reach the next rodeo and compete without the worry of expensive entry fees and fuel prices. 

My friend is sponsored by Celadrin, a joint supplement company out of California.  The partnership is a good match, and I applaud Celadrin for making rodeo a part of their integrated marketing strategy.  What a great opportunity for them to get their logo, web address, and retailers' names on a vehicle that will travel their entire trade area year-round.   Further, they are associated with a successful athlete of an extremely physically demanding sport.  Rodeo cowboys exude ruggedness, athleticism, and raw grit, all of which is admired by the large audiences professional rodeos draw.   My friend’s endorsement of their product makes sense because he uses it on a daily basis and strongly believes in its benefits, so it’s an easy sell for him when talking to friends and fans, alike.

I encourage all companies to think outside the box and consider new and innovative ways to deliver their message to their audience.  I’m not sure if I’ll see a rodeo cowboy sponsorship make its way into one of Balihoo’s recommended advertising media plans, but based on our team’s meticulous approach to scrutinizing local marketing ideas, I wouldn’t be surprised if something equally as creative and original showed up.

This past weekend, I was at the mall with my best friend (and first grade teacher) to keep her company while she was running some errands.  She had two stops to make: First stop the Bronco shop to get some gear for the Fiesta Bowl.  Second stop was the Build - A - Bear Workshop so she could get a shirt for her classroom bear. Being in my twenties with no kids, this was my first time in the store. I must say I was pretty impressed with the whole concept. I’m sure many of you are familiar with how it works but for those of you who aren’t, I’ll give you the quick rundown. First, you get to choose your cuddly creature from an assortment of animals. Once you make your choice, you then go to the stuffing machine and your animal begins to take shape. Once stuffed, you can pick from a massive selection of accessories, clothes even wigs and the whole nine yards to trick out your bear. What a concept, letting the customer choose and customize their very own one of a kind "product" while being vested in the process.

I can't help but draw some interesting parallels here between Build-A-Bear and Balihoo. Balihoo offers a complete local store marketing platform that allows it's customers to have a true hands-on approach to their local marketing and media. While also giving the customer the ability to customize and tailor their franchise marketing to fit their needs. I also noticed while visiting the Build-A-Bear website, they were named to FORTUNE's 2009 "100 Best Companies to Work For" list, just as Balihoo was named one of the best companies to work for in Idaho.